Building where to start? Any good builder will tell you that, to have a successful building project, you have to be able to see the project completed before you start. If you haven’t work through the details of the project in your mind and solved and documented all the problems first, you are heading for some unexpected surprises as well as costs.

It has come to our attention that new smoke alarm requirements will be introduced to the Building Regulation 2006 and will come into force on January 1, 2017. Unlike the QFES legislation being introduced about smoke alarms, this legislation will affect building approval issued after January 1, 2017.

As of January 1, 2017 a building application for a new dwelling or alterations to dwelling must address the following new smoke alarm requirements:

Smoke alarms must be photoelectric (AS 3786-2014); and

Smoke alarms must not also contain an ionisation sensor; and

Smoke alarms must be hardwired to the mains power supply with a secondary power source (i.e. battery); and

Smoke alarms must be interconnected with every other smoke alarm in the dwelling so all activate together.

After reading the last two articles we have published on form 16’s – because we are sure you have read them, you should have a clear understanding about the use of Form 16’s and what your responsibilities are under the Building Act 1975.

We will now walk you through the form step-by-step and clearly explain each part and how to fill it out. This will ensure you only fill in the parts you need to, and therefore only certify what you actually need to certify – possibly saving you from a lawsuit in the future.

Following on from our last article, it’s important for everyone to understand their statutory functions and duties when they are carrying out inspections and issuing Form 16’s. This is the first instalment on how to understand, and correctly fill out this form.

“I’m thinking of subdividing land. I have spare land at the back of my property and looking at the option of subdividing to make some money, can I do that?” is a question many land owners ask, and a question Town Planners deal with everyday. The answer to subdividing land is generally yes, but not without quite a few hurdles to jump over first.

“Well firstly you need to go get your DA and then you can focus on getting your BA”. Have you ever heard your planner or building certifier using this terminology and wondered “huh?” Well you are most likely not alone. All industries have little sayings and acronyms which can be extremely confusing if you are not ‘up with the lingo’.